You might have noticed that we are emerald obsessed at MoMuse. In fact, this 18kt emerald stacking ring beauty has just dropped online but more on that another time. With the revered gemstone being the birthstone for the month of May, we thought we’d take a closer look at its symbolic power while also sharing our tips on how best to care for this most precious stone. 

Since Egyptian times, when emeralds were favoured by Cleopatra, the lustrous green of May’s birthstone has symbolised wealth, success, wisdom and abundance. Alongside these appealing attributes, emeralds are thought to have powerful healing qualities. We have an inherent tendency to associate the colour green with nature and by wearing it (be it a green shirt, or our favourite emerald gold-filled hoops) it can help us to relax, restore and focus on the rejuvenating qualities of our natural environment. 

"Indeed no stone has a colour that is more delightful to the eye, for whereas the sight fixes itself with avidity upon the green grass and foliage of the trees, we have all the more pleasure in looking upon the emerald, there being no green in existence more intense than this." 

Pliny, Natural History

In Hinduism, the emerald is a symbol of unconditional love with those who practise the religion associating it with the heart chakra. This symbology of love was also prevalent in Roman mythology, with Venus, the goddess of love was often linked with the emerald. 

As gemstones go, emeralds are particularly hard stones (they measure 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs hardness scale where a diamond has a hardness of 10 and chalk has a hardness of 3). However, as it is virtually impossible to find an emerald that is flawless or free on ‘inclusions’ this can leave them vulnerable to damage from prolonged and daily wear. 

Our best advice to care for your emeralds would be:

1. Consider limiting the wear of your emerald pieces. Instead of every day, try wearing them every other day. It pains us to say this but your emeralds will thank you for it.
2. Clean (don’t soak!) your emeralds with some warm water and soap.
3. Dry and lightly polish your emeralds with a microfibre cloth. 
4. Avoid cleaning with steam, high heat or chemical chemicals as this can damage your stone and we certainly don’t want that. 

Shop the MoMuse emerald edit here.